Psych exam may be in store for Athens Piggly Wiggly bacon thief

A judge has postponed the arraignment of a woman who pepper-sprayed employees after they caught her stealing bacon, cheese and other goodies from the Piggly Wiggly on Lexington Road three months ago.

Lonneshia Shafaye Appling, 26, was waiting with other prisoners for her turn to enter a plea Tuesday in Clarke County Superior Court when she became disruptive and was removed by deputies.

"She just started saying, 'I'm ready to go, I don't want to be here anymore' and just kept getting louder and louder until the deputies said, 'OK' and took her out,'" said Barbara Reel, chief deputy clerk of court, who sat in on the proceedings.

Appling's attorneys are considering a possible motion to have their client mentally evaluated, according to Reel. A judge previously ordered a mental evaluation for Appling after she was arrested on felony shoplifting and other charges in October 2010. But charges were dropped in February this year, after defense attorneys questioned the credibility of the arresting officer, who was arrested that same month on a bribery charge.

After Appling's outburst in court this week, deputies took her back to the Clarke County Jail, where she's been held without bail since she was arrested on May 23.

That's when a customer at Piggly Wiggly alerted employees to a shoplifting in progress upon seeing Appling hide items in a large canvas bag in her shopping cart, then pay for just one item at the checkout counter, Athens-Clarke police said.

When employees tried to stop Appling at the exit, she pulled out a can of pepper spray and shot a burst of the toxic liquid into the faces of two employees. Police said Appling then dispersed the spray all around her and ran out a side door.

As employees chased the 340-pound woman outside, they saw Appling drop cans of beer from her purse, police said. When they caught up with the woman and spoke with her in an attempt to detain her for police, Appling punched one of the workers, then spit in his face.

While fleeing, Appling even offered the employees money if they would stop following her, but they stuck with her until officers arrived and arrested her, according to police.

Appling, who lives on Sena Drive, was charged with felony theft by shoplifting. The felony charge is not a result of the value of the items she tried to steal - $88.27 - but because she has a long history of shoplifting arrests, police said. A grand jury indictment that was filed last month refers to six shoplifting convictions in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties since 2006. In addition to shoplifting, the indictment charges Appling with aggravated assault, battery, simple battery, disorderly conduct and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

Appling has created public spectacles before. When she was arrested in January for shoplifting at an Ingles in Madison County, she started taking her clothes off and told the officer she had AIDS, the Madison County Journal reported. As the officer struggled to cuff the large woman, the Journal reported, Appling continued to strip until she was completely naked. She broke free from the officer, who subdued her with a taser.